Wilde Roses
by JGTracy
Summary: Aspen Wilde is anything but normal. When her mother dies, she's forced to reunite with her long lost brother in Beacon Hills. She tries to stay in the shadows she's used to, but the supernatural of Beacon Hills drag her into the light. OC/?
1. Wolf Moon

**_-DOING A MAJOR REWRITE-_**

 ** _I'm currently going through and rewriting this story yet again. I'm hoping that I can actually get a new chapter up this time. College has been insane the past year and I've been going through a lot of personal things as well. I almost forgot about this story until I was going through some old docs the other day and found it. Fingers crossed that I get an actual update up soon and continue on with this story because I do have some interesting ideas with where to go with this now._**

* * *

 _Calm down. Just keep breathing. Stay Calm._

Aspen's mind kept repeating the same mantra as she sat nervously outside her new home. She glanced in the rearview mirror several times, making sure she looked absolutely perfect. She reached a tentative finger to her lips to wipe off a smudge of lipstick. She did a teeth check, assuring that none of her dark lipstick had transferred onto her dazzling white teeth.

Her hands moved gracefully up to her hair, cut short before the move. Gone were her long blonde locks, replaced by short burgundy waves. Choppy bangs hung lazily over her forehead and framed her delicate face. Her eyes were darkened by a slight smudge of black liner to bring out the flecks of blue in her eyes. She didn't normally wear much makeup, but this was her first time meeting the man that she had been searching for half of her life. Everything about this moment had to be, well, perfect.

After several grueling minutes of prepping and rechecking every aspect of her appearance, Aspen stepped out of her car, carrying with her a small black suitcase. She approached the door cautiously, aware that the man on the other side had been waiting for her all day. She sighed, lifting her hand in the form of a fist and lightly rapping her knuckles on the hard wood several times before taking in a deep breath and stepping back a couple of feet.

The door flew open to reveal a young man, in his mid-twenties with messy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. He could've been mistaken for her twin before she'd drastically changed her hair. A smile spread across his face as his teeth gleamed a pure white. A glint of happiness appeared in his eyes as he stepped onto the porch and pulled the girl into a bear hug.

" Dammit sis, I wish I was meeting you under different circumstances." The boy mumbled as he continued to hug the weary girl.

" This is just so weird, you think dad would've told me I had a sister?" The boy chuckled sarcastically and that seemed to shake Aspen out of her funk. She laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around him in response.

" Yeah, I guess when mom ran away, she ran away for a pretty big reason." Aspen suggested as she stepped away, gesturing to herself as the cause for her mother's disappearance.

" Well come on in, we must discuss everything!" He tugged her inside and she found herself immediately warming up to her newfound brother.

* * *

They sat in the kitchen for hours, going on about every little detail of their lives that they found important for the other one to know. Aspen went on about how she had always been searching for their father, and she hadn't discovered that she had a brother until just days ago. He talked about how he had always wished that his mom would come back home, but he just hoped it hadn't been in a wooden box. The conversation came to a saddening halt at the mention of the reason why she was currently sitting in his kitchen.

" Is there anywhere around here to go running?" Aspen questioned, needing an escape from the lingering questions she knew he was dying to ask.

" There's a path in the backwoods. It's getting dark though, just be careful." Oliver smiled and she nodded, yanking her bag off the kitchen table and rushing up the stairs to her new bedroom.

She followed his instructions, the third door on the left and she bumped the door open with her hip, dropping her bag on the floor in amazement.

The room she stood in was almost exactly like her old room. The walls were painted a pale grey with posters of her favorite bands scattered randomly on each wall. Her collage of her old life and old friends was carefully reassembled around the far wall of her room. It surrounded the window and completely covered every inch of the wall. Her eyes wandered to the bedspread, it was plain white, not exactly the same as her old one, but close enough. She walked over to the closet, opening it to find a few towels and some old running sneakers.

The door next to the closet led to her personal bathroom, which contained a giant white bathtub and smelled of pine trees. She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked entirely identical to Oliver, minus the hair. They had the same prominent cheekbones, wide blue eyes and surprisingly white teeth. Her mother hadn't looked anything like her. She had long black hair and pale green eyes. She was a beautiful woman, but she was just so fragile that Aspen was afraid that if she touched her she would shatter into a million bits. And she did. Aspen bit down on her tongue, carefully mimicking the same face her mother gave her oh so often. She walked back into her bedroom and quickly changed into a ratty old sweatshirt and some black running shorts. She slipped on socks and a pair of sneakers and went for the stairs.

She hopped down the stairs, avoiding Oliver's questioning glances before hopping out the front door with a quick wave. She ran around the back of the house and into the woods, following the path that was illuminated by the moonlight. She could feel the push of her phone in her side every time she took a step forward and her mind briefly flashed to her friends back in Cleveland. She shivered at the thought and kept running, feeling her hair whip back and forth behind her as the cool summer breeze brushed against her skin.

Approaching a steep hill, her feet ached as she picked up her pace. She had strayed slightly off the man-made path, but could still see it a few yards away. It was too worn down to get a decent challenge out of it. She wanted to feel the leaves slipping under her feet and the branches crunching as she ran along. Those sounds made her feel as though she were really out in the wild, far away from civilization.

Aspen reached the top of the hill and let out a small yelp as she smacked into something hard, causing her to fall flat on her butt. She glanced up, extremely surprised by the appearance of two teenage boys that looked like they were in some serious trouble.

" What the hell?" Aspen exclaimed loudly as she stood up, brushing off the leaves that stuck to her legs. The two boys were hard to see in the moonlight, but she could tell that they were pretty scrawny guys, probably her age or a little older.

" 'Need any help getting up?' oh no, thank you, I was just pummeled by tweedle dee and tweedle dum, but I can manage on my own. Thanks guys." Aspen snorted, still picking little twigs out of her hair as she tossed out one of her classic sarcastic remarks.

" Wh-what are you doing out here?" The boy closest to her stammered. Aspen shot him an accusatory glare and threw her hands up.

" I'm baking a cake, what on earth does it look like I'm doing? What are you two doing out here and why do you look guilty?" She questioned, slightly unnerved by the abruptness of the boy who had spoken.

" We are…uh…shit, we're looking for half of a dead body okay!" The boy spoke reluctantly. Aspen let out a breath and laughed a little.

" A dead body? Sweet." She said, her hands on her hips. The boy in front of her turned to his friend and he shot him a look of confusion.

" I'm Aspen." Aspen announced, capturing the boy's attention once more. He spun around with wide eyes, taken aback by her sudden peaked interest in the two boys.

" I'm Stiles, that's Scott." The boy, Stiles, explained. His friend in the back, Scott, gave Aspen a sheepish wave and smiled.

" So where's this dead body? I want to see it." Aspen said, waggling her eyebrows as she pushed past Stiles and glanced around.

" We don't know. We just heard that half a body was found by some hikers over my dad's police radio, and right now they're searching for the other half." Stiles explained. Aspen furrowed her brow and turned back to him with a questioning look in her eyes.

" You two don't look like cops, so why are you out searching for it?" Aspen questioned, interested in their response.

" Last night of summer, just wanted to go on a crazy adventure." Stiles shrugged and a smile tugged at the corner of Aspen's lips.

" You two go to Beacon Hills High?" Aspen asked, pursing her lips.

" Yup. Sophomore year." This time it was Scott who spoke up. Aspen tilted her head out of curiosity.

" How old are you two?" She questioned. She was 16 but she was the youngest girl in the junior class according to her brother. Maybe everyone in Beacon Hills just got held back a grade.

" 16." The spoke simultaneously, giving each other strange looks as they realized what they had just done.

" Well I'm new starting tomorrow, but fortunately I'm a junior." Aspen explained, turning back to look at the boys as she spun on her heel.

She opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted by a rustling in the bushes several yards away. A flashlight swung over her body and she shielded her eyes. She noticed that Scott had disappeared and she was now standing alone next to Stiles. She took in his appearance as she saw him in the light of the flashlight. He had cropped dark brown hair and whisky-colored eyes with long black lashes. He had strong cheekbones and several prominent freckles. He was just about her height, just a few inches taller and he wore a white t-shirt with a plaid shirt layered over it and plain blue jeans.

" STILES!" A stern voice boomed. The flashlight was back on them and Aspen closed her eyes, irritated by the brightness of the light.

Aspen opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the drastic change in light. The man approaching them was a little bit taller than Aspen, but not as tall as Stiles. He wore a tan jacket that had a clearly marked badge labeled 'sheriff ' on it and Aspen sucked in a breath. She had several issues with the police in the past.

" What in the hell are you doing out here? And who is this?" The man questioned, gesturing to Aspen with the flashlight in hand.

" I eavesdropped and this is Aspen. She's new, just moved—" Stiles was cut off when the man stuck his free hand up to signal him to be quiet.

" Aspen Wilde? Oliver's sister?" The man had a tinge of pity in his voice and Aspen could clearly hear it. She winced, knowing exactly why he had known her.

" I am so sorry about your mother, and your father. It's a tragedy. You kids are too young to be all on your own." He exclaimed. Stiles' eyebrows shot up, his eyes darting to Aspen's. He opened and closed his mouth several times, debating whether or not to speak. He didn't get the chance.

" I'm the Sheriff, Mr. Stilinski, Stiles' father." At the sound of Stiles' name he perked up, only to realize his father held a scolding tone to his words.

" And I'm… probably worrying my brother. I just went out for a run to clear my head and ran straight into Stiles…" She stopped at that, not mentioning the other boy hidden behind a nearby tree.

" You can go, just be careful, there's an animal on the loose." The Sheriff smiled, jerking his thumb behind him to signal her dismissal. She looked quickly to Stiles before walking past the Sheriff and back towards her new home. She sent a quick glance back at him and noticed Stiles watching her leave. She stuck out her tongue, causing him to glare back at her as she jogged off towards the house.

* * *

She got home ten minutes later and pulled her cell phone out of the waistband of her shorts. She tossed it onto her bed and peeled out of her sweatshirt and shorts before jumping into a nice warm shower. She loved the feeling of the water pouring down over her as she stood perfectly still, staring at a small chip in the wallpaper. All her problems had started out as a small chip in the wallpaper of her life. That scratch that wouldn't go away that later turned out to be cancer, and still later stole her mother's life. Aspen groaned, resting her forehead against the wall, extremely frustrated.

She distracted herself by thinking about tomorrow. Her first day at Beacon Hills High School. She wanted to skip it, not yet ready to face hundreds of new faces staring at her all day. She had never had to experience the new girl situation, and she wasn't particularly volunteering to have a crack at it. She rolled her neck, grinning as she heard several satisfactory clicks. All the stress was really getting to her. She was tensed up all the time, too afraid to let anybody in. It was really killing her back.

After several more minutes of allowing the steamy water to run over her skin, she turned off the water, stepping onto the rug and wiping off her feet. She reached for her towel, wrapping it around her body as she shook out her wet hair like a dog.

Several moments later she was dried off and changed into a pair of white fluffy pajama pants and a tight black camisole. She climbed under her bedding and attempted to get some sleep, but instead found herself lost in her thoughts about tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning was chaotic to say the least. Aspen awoke to the sound of Oliver singing away, his stereo blasting as the smell of bacon and eggs drifted into Aspen's room. She groaned, rolling out of bed and yanking a sweater over her head to cover up. She looked in the mirror, content with her appearance before stomping down the stairs and approaching a very awake Oliver.

" I keep going to the river to pray, cause I need something that can wash out the pain!" Oliver sang along as he spun around to be greeted by a very grouchy Aspen. She grunted, the only sound she usually made before 7 am. He smiled, slapping some scrambled eggs and a heaping pile of bacon onto her plate and sliding it across the counter to her. It stopped right in front of her and she dug into the bacon, shoveling spoonfuls of eggs between bites of bacon.

" Whoa, breathe between each shovelful." Oliver teased, Aspen responded with a grunt and the not so subtle lift of her middle finger. He laughed, spinning back on his heels and cooking up some more bacon.

" Hurry up, you've got to be at school in a half hour." Oliver reminded her. She rolled her eyes, slipping out of the chair and sprinting back up the stairs.

Aspen immediately approached the closet, which Oliver had been so kind to fill up for her while she was out running. She played around with a few outfits, ultimately deciding upon a loose black band t-shirt and some high-waist maroon skinny jeans. She slipped on a black beanie and some short combat boots, finalizing the rocker look she was going for. She swiped some mascara over her lashes and dabbed a little bit of concealer under her eyes and then she was good to go.

She snatched a cropped black leather jacket from off the floor and picked up the black backpack Oliver had picked up for her. She snatched her cell off the bed and shoved it into her back pocket, chucking a piece of gum in her mouth as she casually walked downstairs. She folded up the sheet of paper that contained her schedule and shoved it into her other back pocket, grabbing her keys off the counter before waving goodbye to Oliver and speeding out the driveway.

* * *

She found her way to Beacon Hills High School fairly easily considering the only cars on the road that early were all heading to the hell of a school she was dreading to start at today. Aspen parked her car tentatively next to a silver Porsche and her eyes bugged out at the sight of it. She felt somewhat out of place in her ruby red Camaro, but this guy was most obviously rich. She got Ruby at a garage and fixed her up herself, spending no more than $3,000 since her mother's best friend owned the garage and considered Aspen his own.

The owner of the Porsche stepped out, slinging a backpack over one shoulder before glancing at Aspen's car, and then doing several double takes. Aspen felt her cheeks heat up but she shook it off, snatching her bag and cutting the engine. She climbed out of the car carefully, flipping her hair gently. She locked her car and smiled at the beep as she walked away, past Porsche guy, and up towards the school.

" Aspen!" A familiar voice hollered a few yards away from her. She froze, not sure if she should stop and say 'hi' or keep on walking. She didn't make her own decision though since Porsche guy snuck up behind her and started up a conversation.

" You new here?" The guy spoke up, slightly making Aspen jump but she quickly regained her cool façade as she walked right past Stiles and Scott and up into the school.

" Yeah, name's Aspen." Aspen nodded her head coolly, hoping to come off as relaxed and laid back. At her old school she had been head cheerleader and in charge of every little social activity. Here, she just wanted to sit back and enjoy life.

" I'm Jackson. You a sophomore?" He asked.

" Junior." Aspen corrected, pulling her schedule out of her back pocket and searching for her locker number. She found it with ease and Jackson still followed her.

" Can I help you with something, Jackson?" Aspen questioned, turning to him with a slightly annoyed expression planted on her face.

" Your car is impressive. But I noticed McCall and his spaz sidekick seemed to know you back there." Jackson sounded like he was contemplating whether or not Aspen was worth his time, but before he could declare the verdict, a small head with strawberry blonde curls popped up next to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

" Who's this?" She asked, her eyes traveling from her combat boots up to her flawless skin that required little to no makeup, and finishing with her shiny burgundy hair and black beanie. Aspen noticed a small approving nod and she smiled, immediately taking an interest in the small strawberry blond girl in front of her.

" Aspen. I'm new. Junior." She answered all the possible questions the girl could ask and she looked up to Jackson.

" Lydia Martin." She extended her hand and Aspen took it, admiring the girl's perfect French manicure.

" Have you met anybody so far? Besides Jackson of course." Lydia asked. Aspen thought about it for a moment before she caught a glimpse of the two boys out of the corner of her eyes.

" Actually I have, I met Stiles and Scott. I didn't get last names, I kind of ran into them, literally, on my run last night." Aspen explained, hoping that she didn't seem like she was really associated with them. She had a feeling that Jackson and Lydia weren't too keen on the body hunters.

" What's a Stiles?" Lydia asked, Aspen held in a laugh but she noticed a smug smile on Jackson's face.

" Nevermind. Anyways, what's it like around here?" Aspen asked, shutting her locker and turning back towards the couple in front of her.

" Boring. Except for when we have parties, OH, and of course our lacrosse games!" Lydia piped up at the mention of lacrosse and Aspen assumed that Jackson played. He seemed like a jock to Aspen.

" You play?" Aspen asked Jackson, trying to kill some time before first bell.

" I'm captain." He scoffed as if this fact was obvious and Aspen rolled her eyes, not amused by his cocky attitude.

" We should get heading off to class, but come sit with us at lunch and we'll tell you all about Beacon Hills." Lydia smiled and spun on her heel, dragging Jackson away with her.

* * *

Aspen walked alone to her first class, hugging her books to her chest as she realized she was gaining a lot of attention from the boys today. When she made it into her first period class she sighed in relief when she recognized two familiar faces sitting next to each other.

" Hi, I'm Aspen Wilde, I'm new." Aspen spoke, knowing she'd repeat that phrase several times that day.

The teacher handed her a textbook and pointed to the back of the class, right where Scott and Stiles were sitting. She strutted back towards them, choosing the seat in front of Stiles and beside Scott.

" Find the body?" Aspen whispered as more students gathered in the room.

" What?" Stiles seemed to jump and Aspen laughed, spinning around in her seat to look at him.

" Find. The. Body?" Aspen said slowly.

" Oh, I didn't. But apparently Scottie boy did." Stiles said, earning a slap on the shoulder from Scott.

" OW." Stiles complained and Aspen rolled her eyes, turning back to the front of the classroom.

She made it through the rest of the day in silence, avoiding all stares and getting to know some of Lydia and Jackson's friends. When she sat with them at lunch they went on about some party at Lydia's on Friday night and Aspen jumped in on the invitation, in desperate need of a little fun.

* * *

That Friday Aspen was dragged with Lydia and another new girl, Allison, to the lacrosse scrimmage. Every time they made a goal Lydia would scream so loud that Aspen was sure her eardrums would pop. After the game they all squeezed into Jackson's Porsche and drove off to Lydia's mansion of a house.

The party had already started which slightly confused Aspen. She guessed that Lydia must have already had everything set up and just told people to come right in upon arrival.

Aspen spent half the night being introduced to all the lacrosse players worth mentioning. She faked a laugh at Greenburg's joke, smiled teasingly at Pete's suggestive comments, and put on a show as the boys lined up one by one to meet the new 'hottie' on campus. She rolled her eyes at the use of Lydia's term, not believing in the slightest that she was considered attractive at Beacon Hills, especially in comparison to Lydia and Allison.

At some point she was separated from the strawberry blonde girl and ended up talking with Pete Stone. He was third best on the lacrosse team and that was all he seemed to talk about.

Aspen found herself nodding off as he droned on about some stupid lacrosse play that she didn't understand. She felt bad for somewhat ignoring the guy, but it didn't seem like he really cared. He was just there to be there, nothing more, nothing less.

" Am I boring you?" That caught Aspen's attention. She shot up, a look of pure guilt crossing over her features.

" No, it's not you, I just am really not into lacrosse. Sorry. We could talk about something else? Like that body the police found last night!" Aspen suggested. Peter gave her a strange look and walked away. She nodded to herself, knowing she'd said something too weird. She decided that was the best time to leave. She narrowly avoided Lydia as she made a beeline for the front door. She yanked it open, seeing Allison standing alone on the sidewalk. Her eyebrows furrowed out of curiosity and she approached the new girl.

" Scott ditched me! How am I supposed to get home now?" She whined. Aspen was about to offer herself as an escort when a figure slowly approached them.

" I'm Derek, I'm a friend of Scott's. I can take you home." His voice was rough and Aspen found herself staring into his green eyes. He was definitely older than the rest of them, probably early twenties. He had spiked black hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. Everything about him screamed 'bad boy', especially his black leather jacket, black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots and sweet black Camaro parked on the sidewalk.

" Sweet ride! I've got a ruby red one, she's not as gorgeous as yours though." Aspen surprised herself by speaking.

" You've got a Camaro?" Disbelief echoed in his voice and Aspen was slightly offended.

" Hell yeah. Allison, be careful. I'm just gonna walk since my house is like ten houses down anyways." Aspen said, patting her friend on the back before turning away from the mysterious boy and walking towards her house.

" Want a ride?" Derek offered as she continued to stumble, her dizziness starting to take over.

" I'm good." She hollered over her shoulder. She heard his car engine start and speed away before she could even take a second glance.


	2. Ice Cream Fun

_**Rewrite of chapter two, 3/8/18**_

* * *

The day after Lydia's party was one of ibuprofen and sunglasses for Aspen. She knew she had too much to drink, but it tasted better going down rather than coming back up. She spent the majority of her morning slung over the toilet in her private bathroom, successfully avoiding her overly nosy brother.

Lydia had called her several times over the course of the night, most of them were drunk messages, but around 4 am she was sober and questioning what had happened between Aspen and Pete. Aspen just deleted her voicemails, not getting a single one from Allison like she had hoped.

After making it back home last night with little to no violent puking, Aspen was curious about how Allison had managed to get home. She vaguely remembered a guy, Derek, offering her a ride home. As long as Scott got his ass kicked for abandoning Allison, Aspen was fine with however she managed to make it home.

After the last round of her violent heaving was finished, Aspen stood up, knees wobbling as she stood in front of her sink with the water running. She snatched up her toothbrush, scrubbing away any evidence that she had been drinking or puking. She brushed her teeth twice more before the overwhelming taste of mint made her gag.

After messing with her unruly hair for several minutes she gave up, throwing on her black beanie to cover the unmanageable hair. She slipped out of her pajamas and into a black sweatshirt, white jeans and dark gray tennis shoes.

Aspen walked past her desk, whisking her keys away and shoving them into her sweatshirt pocket.

" Oliver, want anything from the store?" Aspen asked as she stepped onto the main floor.

" Pick up something to make for dinner, be creative." Oliver hollered from the other room. Aspen smiled as an idea popped into her head. It was never a good idea to tell Aspen to be creative.

" I'll be back in an hour." She yelled, swinging open the front door. A cool breeze brushed against her face, pushing her hair back as she stepped outside.

* * *

The drive into town was not long, about fifteen minutes at the most. Aspen spent most of her drive adjusting radio stations until she came upon one with no commercials and decent music. Her fingers slid against the dial to adjust the music as she turned it up, blasting The Chainsmokers as she drove peacefully.

Beacon Hills was not known for its' gigantic department stores and food chain restaurants. Instead, a nice row of boutiques lined the main street, with a big, but still considerably small, grocery shop on the corner that turned towards the high school. Aspen parallel parked her car and hopped out, locking her car with a satisfying beep.

She hopped onto the sidewalk, glancing down the rows of shops. The one that interested her the most was the book store. She turned to her left and walked towards it, seeing as it was on her way to the grocery, she could justify buying a ton of books. She slowed as the sign for the shop came closer, 'Betsy's Books' was written in curly pink letters against a chipped white sign. Aspen smiled, liking the cute name for the hole-in-the-wall book shop.

When she pushed the door open, a chime echoed throughout the shop, drawing the attention of a petite woman doodling behind the counter. Aspen stopped, taking in the adorable shop. Lined up in front of her were five rows of bookshelves, all completely filled with at least three copies of each novel. The bookshelves were double-sided and they stood up about six feet tall and stretched all the way to the other end of the shop. The bookshelves themselves were painted the same white as the sign, with gold placards naming the genres. A counter stretched across the length of the store, separating what Aspen assumed to be a back room from the books out front.

" Why hello, darlin'! Can I help y'all find anythin' today?" The woman behind the counter popped up in front of Aspen and she jumped, not expecting to be spoken to.

" I'm not sure, I just saw your shop and, well, I love books. So here I am." Aspen smiled, shrugging as she continued to glance around the shop.

" You're new to town, aren't ya?" The woman had a slight southern accent as she spoke. Aspen nodded.

" Well lemme tell ya what, I need some help around here if y'all are interested? Old Billy ain't no help, he jus' sleepin' in the back room like it's no big whoop. He's lazy. I could use someone with a passion for books, it would make things a hell of a lot easier." The woman continued on and Aspen's mouth slowly started to drop in disbelief. She had just been offered a job, at one of her favorite places in the world too.

" Of course, I'd love to! I'm Aspen." She extended her hand and the woman shook it was a toothy grin on her face.

" I'm Mrs. Betsy, Bill is my mister, if only he'd do some gosh darn work around here…" She trailed off as she whipped around and disappeared behind the counter again.

" I'll leave the paperwork on the counter, just fill it out and you can start on Monday." Betsy's voice hollered from the back room.

Aspen filled out the paperwork and left it on the counter as instructed. She exited the small book shop and continued down the street to the grocery store. Grabbing a cart, she roamed the aisles until satisfied with her options. She had thrown in some spaghetti and ground beef to make meatballs. Along with the spaghetti she also grabbed supplies to make spinach salad and a loaf of bread. For dessert, she figured they could go out to the ice cream parlor she had seen on the opposite side of the street.

After Aspen checked out, she made her way back to her car, stopping back in the book store to thank Betsy once again. She pulled her keys out of her back pocket and unlocked her car, tossing the grocery bags in the back seat. She shut the door, turning to open the driver's side door when she discovered a figure leaning casually against her door.

" Derek, right…?" Aspen struggled to remember his name properly, but she believed it to be something along those lines. It definitely started with a 'D'. Or did it? She really hoped she wasn't about to embarrass herself. The alcohol had more than somewhat impaired her memory.

" So you weren't lying about the Camaro?" The mystery man replied. Aspen assumed that meant that she had indeed gotten his name correct.

" Why would I? She's my baby. I spent two years working on her." Aspen explained, slightly insulted that he hadn't believed her. She casually reached for the handle to her door but Derek blocked her.

" You did an okay job." Aspen snapped her head up.

" _Okay?_ No, 'okay' is something you say when someone asks you to do something. My car is superb." She hissed. How dare this pompous man come along and insult her car! Aspen was fuming.

" Get off my car, I'm supposed to be home." She moved for the door handle again and Derek didn't stop her this time. She scoffed, shoving him out of the way as she stood in front of the ajar door.

" What happened with Scott and Allison last night?" Aspen spun around, her curiosity getting the better of her.

" No clue, I drove Allison home, that was it." He held his hands up defensively and Aspen felt a bit of relief.

" Good, because she's with Scott. Don't try anything." Aspen tried her best to sound intimidating and was satisfied when his eyebrows shot up questioningly.

" She's not my type anyways." Derek whispered as Aspen climbed into her car. She hadn't heard him and she drove away with a need to escape the nagging feeling that something else was going on between Derek and Scott.

* * *

That night, Aspen and Oliver enjoyed their dinner as they exchanged stories about their parents. After they finished, Aspen snatched her car keys off the counter and drove the two of them into town. She parked in front of the ice cream parlor and climbed out. When she reached the sidewalk, Oliver offered her his arm. She laughed, straightening her posture and accepting his offer with a sarcastic glare.

" Well well, what do we have here?" Oliver pondered over the display of the various ice cream flavors and Aspen laughed, having slight déjà vu of her mother's foolish ways.

" I believe we have… 'Manic Mint Oreo Ice Cream'… Oh, and 'Rocky Balboa Road'! Why are these all named after 80's things?" Aspen questioned, reading each of the names as she began to like the ice cream parlor more and more.

" Well there's a reason it's called '80's Ice', that's the theme!" Oliver explained, turning to give his order to the woman behind the counter.

Aspen got a small cone of 'Cry Baby Cake Batter' with crumbled bits of Reese's Cups on top. She picked out a booth as she waited for Oliver to get his order. As she licked at her dripping ice cream, she noticed two familiar faces walk into the shop. She scooted down into her seat and avoided eye contact as they glanced around the parlor.

" Aspen!" She cursed mentally and put on a happy face.

" Scott! Stiles! Nice to see you…" She smiled and noticed Oliver out of the corner of her eyes.

" Boys! Not flirting with my sister, are you?" Oliver spoke loudly, attracting some attention from surrounding booths. Aspen shrank further into her seat, scooting over so Oliver could sit beside her.

" No! Of course not! Why would I?" Stiles replied almost too quickly. Aspen gave him a questioning look and he stumbled on his words.

" I mean— It's not like she's not pretty, cause she's gorgeous! It's just… OW!" Stiles was silenced by a smack on the arm from Scott.

" I'm kidding." Oliver said with a serious expression on his face.

" Oh…" Stiles let out a breath with this revelation and gave Aspen a tentative smile.

" Not interested." Aspen snapped. Stiles nodded, seeming to be used to that response.

" Well, see you guys later. We're trying to enjoy sibling time." Oliver shooed them off and Aspen let out a breath of relief when they were out of sight.

" So, speaking of boys you're flirting with…" Oliver led into the conversation with ease and Aspen rolled her eyes.

" There is one guy. Haven't flirted with him per say but he's definitely caught my eye. He's really frustrating, but it's kind of interesting. But he's older." Aspen explained.

" Sweetie, I'm not mom, or dad, I don't care about that. So long as he doesn't hurt you, I'm fine with whoever you go for. But don't go whoring around town just because I don't care! I have a reputation to uphold as _the_ town whore, you would just ruin that." Oliver smiled as he spoke and Aspen kicked him gently under the table.

" I won't steal your street corners, Oliver, I promise." Aspen held her hand up in defense and he laughed.

" Now who is he?" Oliver pestered.

" That's for me to know and you to 'dot, dot, dot'." Aspen replied with a smug smile. She scooted out the opposite side of the booth and made her way back to the restrooms.

After washing her hands, she returned to the booth to find Oliver nowhere in sight. She walked over to the abandoned booth slowly and noticed a note on the bench he had just been sitting on.

 _Aspen,_

 _I needed to run across street to pick up breakfast. Donuts sounded good to me. Meet me at the car in 15._

 _-Oliver_

Aspen rolled her eyes, annoyed with the fact that Oliver despised cell phones. His many notes around the house made that fact very clear. She pocketed the scrap of paper and glanced around the parlor once, hoping to find a familiar face. No such luck. She sighed, pulling out her keys and deciding to sit in the car and wait for Oliver to return.

* * *

When she pushed the door open, she was met with a chilled breeze. She shivered, wishing she had grabbed a jacket earlier. The streets were nearly emptied, with just a few strays wandering off the beaten path. Aspen unlocked her car, climbing in the driver's side and blasting the heat.

As she waited for Oliver, she noticed something in her rearview mirror. Two glowing red orbs hovered in the darkness a few parking spots back. Her heart began to pound as they slowly moved forward. She spun around in her seat and gripped the headrest, trying to see what was behind her. Aspen squinted, trying to find the source of the mystery red orbs, but a knock on the passenger window distracted her focus.

" I've got jelly filled donuts!" Oliver sang as he plopped down in the seat next to Aspen. She gave him a smile and returned her stare back to her rearview mirror to find that the red orbs had disappeared. _Weird._


End file.
